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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23724289">Don't Tell Me If I'm Dying</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/xLoveMx/pseuds/xLoveMx'>xLoveMx</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Critical Role (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Widojest - Freeform, and beau is very angry, beauyasha in the background, jestergast, nott is apparently even angrier, the m9 are badass</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:47:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,655</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23724289</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/xLoveMx/pseuds/xLoveMx</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Caleb gets the chance to save his friends and confess his love to Jester, but this wasn't really how he planned on all of that going down.( aka Caleb sacrifices himself and Beau threatens to kill people. Several times. )</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jester Lavorre/Caleb Widogast</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>303</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a continuation of a prompt I got on tumblr. Some people wanted more, and then this whole idea suddenly manifested itself in my head and wouldn't stop nagging me so...here you go. Let me know if you want more still!</p>
<p>And check out the playlist:<br/>https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1yICmLmx0mLipWN4BPFPxY</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>„A sacrifice. An eye for an eye.”</em>
</p>
<p>The voice was echoing through the room and bouncing off the walls before it fell silent again. The small room was lit up by the markings that had been drawn on the floor and had begun to glow the moment they had all entered.</p>
<p>It had been a trap. And they had walked straight into it.</p>
<p>Beau was trying to get the door to open, though she had been banging at it for at least ten minutes without making any progress. It really seemed like the only way out was to make a sacrifice.</p>
<p>“There has to be a way to trick this…whatever it is. I’m not losing anyone else…” Yasha mumbled from where she stood next to Caduceus, who seemed to be turning over every possibility they had in his head.</p>
<p>“Everyone, think. We’ve gotten out of worse situations…” Fjord agreed, the Falchion in his grip. He had tried to destroy the markings and symbols on the floor before, but he had been about as successful as Beau in her attempt to reopen the door.</p>
<p>Caleb, who had been quiet so far, found his eyes being drawn towards Jester. She was looking around, trying to see if she could be of any help to anyone. She was strong, so maybe helping Beau would be an option, but Caleb, with his experience in magic, also knew that there was no way out of this other than finishing the spell they had activated with a sacrifice.</p>
<p>These people were his friends, they had even become his family, and he wouldn’t be able to just sit around here and watch them slowly go insane, because they couldn’t get out.</p>
<p>He couldn’t bear the thought of Jester being caught up in the middle of all of this. She deserved to go back home and see her mother, and to dance and paint and see the rest of the world.</p>
<p>She deserved to go on with her life, to be surrounded by her friends, and even if Caleb wasn’t around, he was sure that Nott would take care of her, much like she had taken care of him before.</p>
<p>It was almost funny how easily everything seemed to fall into place in that moment. He had always been a bit of a coward, but for her he’d do it all. Face his biggest fears, go to the ends of the earth, wherever that may be, and if he was honest then this was just that. He had no idea where he was going, but he was doing it for.</p>
<p>His eyes caught sight of Yasha then, and he remembered that night in the tent, when she had looked at him and asked <em>Do you love her?</em></p>
<p>He hadn’t responded, because it was a different thing to know that he was in love, but to have to admit it out loud in front of anyone else? It had terrified him, even though Yasha would have probably been the only one he could have talked to about it freely.</p>
<p>Tearing his eyes away from her he found that a small smile tugged on the corners of his lips as he stepped forward.</p>
<p>“We could try to…” Jester began, though she was momentarily distracted by Caleb, who had stepped into her space. “Cal-“ His hands came to rest on her face as she he bent down ever so slightly to press his lips against hers.</p>
<p>He knew there would be no time for words, no time to explain, so Caleb simply put everything he had into the kiss. All the desire, longing and love that he felt for her, and that had built up over time.</p>
<p> Everything in him was screaming to stay, to just keep kissing her, but he knew there was no time.  So Caleb eventually pulled back, only barely registering the surprised faces of his friends, as he stepped onto the small platform that was covered in glowing symbols.</p>
<p>His eyes met with Jester’s one last time, and he did his best to file away the way her cheeks had flushed and the soft expression in her eyes, before everything went too bright for him to keep his own eyes open.</p>
<p>And before anyone could even so much as begin to process what had happened, the symbols had stopped glowing, the door swung open, and Caleb was gone.</p>
<p>Beau nearly fell, stumbling forward and just barely catching herself. “Guys, I did it!” She called, but when there was no response, she turned to look at her friends, who all stood exactly where she had left them, looking almost shell shocked.</p>
<p>Stepping back into the room, Beau tried to figure out what was going on, and it took her a moment to realize Caleb was nowhere to be found.</p>
<p>“What the…?” She muttered, just in time for Jester to seemingly snap out of her trance.</p>
<p>“No…Caleb?” She called, stepping forward a little and into the circle, but the symbols stayed the same. “No, no. Where did he go?”</p>
<p>She turned to look at the others, who seemed to slowly begin to grasp the entirety of the situation.</p>
<p>“He…sacrificed himself.” Fjord managed, though even he seemed to not quite be sure what exactly that meant.</p>
<p>Caduceus had moved to rest a hand on Yasha’s shoulder, who was shaking ever so slightly as her eyes darted across the room.</p>
<p>“No…he has to be somewhere here,” Jester piped up again, and the tears that had formed in her eyes were threatening to fall as she looked around the room.</p>
<p>It was still empty.</p>
<p>“It was a trap.” Nott broke the silence again a moment later. “We couldn’t have possibly known…”</p>
<p>“We couldn’t, but that motherfucker Quillon did.” Beau now interjected, “We took down the two creatures that guarded this place within minutes. Neither of us got hurt.”</p>
<p>“That asshole wasn’t sending us here because these creatures terrorized the town,” Fjord concluded, “He was sending us here for something else, but…” he trailed off, looking around. “Why? I mean…he didn’t know us, why would he want to hurt us?”<br/>Admittedly, there were lots of people who were just intentionally evil, and they didn’t need a reason to hurt people, but everyone in that town had seemed like honest workers.</p>
<p>“People are awful.” Beau shot back, “And I am tearing this guy a new one!”</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>
  <em>Druvenlode was a small town, with a main street that was lined by regular one story, very rarely two-story houses that eventually ended in a small marketplace, which was surrounded by shops.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>They wouldn’t have necessarily stopped here at all if it hadn’t been edging closer and closer to dusk and the prospect of spending another night sleeping on the ground, constantly having to watch their backs, had been hanging above them.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>There would have to be an Inn where they could take a rest, maybe even places to stock up on supplies and healing potions, and it probably wasn’t too expensive to pay for a couple of rooms. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>They had ended up in an Inn called The Silver Hammer, which was small, but had enough room for them and a tavern to spend the rest of the evening in.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It was there they had been approached by a man in his forties, with dark hair that was streaked with the occasional grey here and there. They had been well into their drinks at this point, so when he had told them about the monsters that seemingly terrorized this town at night they had all been interested.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“It walks the streets at night…we’ve had people being dragged away because they weren’t watching their backs.” He shook his head as he finished yet another drink, putting the empty mug onto the table. “They were never seen again, all we found were bones just outside of the town,”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“And those ruins you say, is where they hide? What were they before they were ruins?” Beau asked, leaning back in her seat. Neither of them were people to say no to earning some extra money, and it wouldn’t have been the first time they had taken care of a creature to collect some money in return.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“We don’t know…it was long before our time, but it was said to be a temple of some sort. Whatever lives there…seems to have been here for a while,” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>At some point Fjord had asked why he was the one approaching them about a subject like that, but most of them had been too far gone at this point to actually care.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Probably because he’s got the money?” Caleb had suggested, “Or knows where to get it. I am not opposed to earning a little extra coin though, I need to stock up on paper and ink,”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Jester had smiled then, and quickly picked up a pen to doodle in one of Caleb’s books when he wasn’t looking. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>So, they had decided to take a look at the ruins first thing in the morning. With some extra money they could stay for another night if they wanted to, depending on how long the fight would take them. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I don’t…like this.” Yasha had mumbled on her way up to the rooms, and Beau who had been just a little bit tipsy, had leaned against her, one arm thrown around the other woman’s shoulder. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“It’ll be fine. It’s just a small job and then we can go back to traveling. Whatever this creature is, Jester will probably crush it with her giant lollipop,” She chuckled. “Or Caleb can set it on fire. Nothing to worry about,”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>So they had gone to bed that night, most of them a little too drunk to hear the howling in the distant night.</em>
</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>“We shouldn’t have come here…” Yasha mumbled, having taken a step towards Jester, her hand reaching for the other woman’s. Jester was still looking around, a mix of pain and confusion painted across her face.</p>
<p>They both stood inside the circle where Caleb had been not a moment ago, helplessly looking around. “He can’t be…” Jester began but trailed off again as the tears slowly began to fall, blurring her vision. She was clinging to Yasha’s hand now like it was an anchor, keeping her from drowning.</p>
<p>“I’m finding that bastard.” Beau spoke up again, “And he will tell us what the fuck just happened here.” She was already halfway out the door, when the symbols on the floor suddenly began to glow again.<br/>For a moment everyone glanced back to the door, expecting it to slam shut again, but nothing was moving. Caduceus and Fjord barely managed to pull Yasha and Jester back, before the glow became impossibly bright, and all of them had to close their eyes in order to not go blind instantly.</p>
<p>When they opened them again, there was a figure standing in the middle of the circle where previously there had been none.</p>
<p>“Cay-leb?” Jester eventually blinked through her tears, her heart leaping out of her chest for a moment, only to be broken the moment she noticed that the figure wasn’t Caleb, not even close. It was a young woman, her long blonde hair disheveled and only barely covering the elvish ears that poked out from underneath. She was wearing a blue dress that was entirely inappropriate for the cold season they were in, and her face showed a confused expression.</p>
<p>Nott immediately had her crossbow ready, and Yasha had drawn her sword with her free hand.</p>
<p>“Who are you? And where is Caleb?” Nott looked like she was absolutely ready to fire, and the fact that this girl might know where Caleb had disappeared to was the only reason she hadn’t yet.</p>
<p>“Caleb?” The girl then croaked, almost surprised by the sound of her voice. “I don’t…where’s Varian?”</p>
<p>“Who’s Varian?” Beau, who had stepped further into the room, had her arms crossed as she pushed past her friends. “Screw that, who are you? And what is this fuckery? Where’s our friend?”</p>
<p>Seemingly intimidated by Beau, and all the weapons that were pointed at her, the girl took a step back. “I mean no harm,” She then spoke, hands raised in what almost seemed like a plea. “My name is Yennifair. I was trapped in there…I don’t know for how long. Varian…he’s my fiancé. He…promised to find a way to free me, but only if it wasn’t at the expense of someone else.” She then added, her eyes finding Jester, who was still pressed against Yasha, her cheeks wet with tears, and something like recognition seemed to pass over her features. Pain recognizing pain. “I’m…assuming he isn’t the one who sent you,” She then concluded with another look at the rest of them.</p>
<p>“No. That bastard Quillon sent us to seemingly get rid of some creatures that terrorized the town and lived here,”</p>
<p>At the mention of the name, Yennifair’s face seemed to turn pale. “Quillon…he’s my father,” She then managed, and before anyone else was able to say something to add to the conversation, a familiar sound cut through the silence and Yennifair turned an even whiter shade of pale, glancing down to where an arrow had pierced through her skin.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here comes chapter two! Thank you to everyone who has shown interest so far x</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Nott, what the hell?”</p>
<p>Fjord’s first instinct when noticing the arrow had been to duck, because he had expected another trap to have been set off, but when he turned to look, he could see his friend with her crossbow still pointed at the girl they had just encountered.</p>
<p>“Her father is the one who got us into this shit,” Nott replied almost too calmly considering the situation they were in. “If he tells us how to get Caleb back, we’ll give him his daughter back,”</p>
<p>“Not if she’s dead.” Beau responded, and even though she had been ready to kill someone a minute ago, she probably hadn’t been talking about Yennifair, who by now had fallen backwards and onto the ground.</p>
<p>“Jester can stabilize her, and then we’ll send for Quillon, tell him we’ve got his daughter,” Not replied as she slowly lowered the cross bow, watching as Fjord moved towards the girl, resting her head in his lap. She seemed to be alive, even though unconscious, and her blue dress was slowly seeping through with blood.</p>
<p>“I don’t think Jester is doing anything right now,” Yasha piped up then from where she was standing off to the side, with Jester clinging on to her hand still. The other woman had gone uncharacteristically quiet, eyes drifting across the room, as if she hadn’t quite grasped the entirety of the situation.</p>
<p>“I’ve got it,” Caduceus nodded as he kneeled down beside Fjord and Yennifair, one hand resting on her shoulder as the other pulled out the arrow carefully. It seemed rather unlikely that the girl would have made an escape attempt, especially facing six people in her path, but he was aware that now was not the time to start an argument about that.</p>
<p>“So…we just go get him?” Yasha asked again, after a few moments had passed, turning to look at the others. “…hoping that he knows what to do to get Caleb back?”</p>
<p>Jester winced at the mention of their friend’s name, her grasp on Yasha seeming to only get tighter.</p>
<p>It was a weak plan at best, but then again, they had once stolen a ship and become pirates practically out of nowhere, so they would just have to make this work, especially if it was their only option.</p>
<p>“Damn right I’m getting that bastard,” Beau’s anger seemed to flare up again as she glanced around. “Who’s coming with me?”</p>
<p>At this point she would have probably gone alone, too, but it would help if there was at least two of them, just in case Quillon decided to resist, or call for help.</p>
<p>Yasha was shrugging her shoulders a little helplessly, nodding at Jester, who was still holding on to her. Fjord had picked up Yennifair, whose breathing seemed to have normalized to some degree, while Caduceus stayed close to the both of them.</p>
<p>“I guess that leaves me,” Nott eventually replied, and with one look back at the stone circle, and the weird symbols on the floor, she had turned and walked out of the chamber.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>They had all settled outside of the ruins, overlooking the hill the entire thing was built on, with Druvenlode faintly visible in the distance. Yennifair was on the ground, covered by Caduceus’ coat, still unconscious. He was making sure her breathing was still alright, and that they’d notice when she’d wake up, while Fjord was watching Nott and Beau’s figures getting smaller and smaller in the distance.</p>
<p>Yasha had settled down with Jester a little off to the side, still overlooking the whole place, but leaving the watch to the other two members of their group.</p>
<p>“Why did he do that?” Jester eventually broke the silence that had fallen over them, and Yasha glanced back at her, an almost pained expression on her face.</p>
<p>“Caleb is a smart man,” She then began. “He…probably knew that there was no other way out there than someone actually…sacrificing themselves,” she was careful not to use the term <em>give his life,</em> because Yasha really had no idea what exactly had happened in that room, and there was no need to make things worse.</p>
<p>She was also sure that she would lose it like Jester if she actually admitted to the possibility of Caleb being dead.</p>
<p>“No…I didn’t mean…” Jester sighed, shaking her head. “I meant…why did he kiss me?” She glanced up then, and Yasha could see tears pooling in the corners of her eyes again.</p>
<p>“Oh, that I can answer,” She then replied, carefully reaching out to rest a hand on Jester’s knee. “Do you…not know that he loves you?”</p>
<p>Yasha had always wondered if she was the only one who could see it. How Caleb was always watching out for Jester, making sure that she didn’t get hurt, or that she was happy. Whenever there was a chance to make her smile, Caleb would be the first one to do it. The lack of love he had for himself was weighed out by the one he had for Jester.</p>
<p>Maybe Yasha was the only one who could see it, because Caleb and she were very similar in that aspect. They wanted the person they loved to be happy, whether that was with them or with someone else.</p>
<p>“I always…I thought he was in love with Astrid and then…” Jester trailed off again, using the back of her hand to wipe at her eyes. “I never…” The thoughts in her head were going a hundred miles per hour, and it was making her dizzy.</p>
<p>If Caleb really had been in love with her, then why had he never said a thing? He had always been a quiet person, sure, but they had become friends over time, right? And friends always told each other the truth.</p>
<p>“It’s not always that easy,” Yasha offered, squeezing her friend’s knee. “Sometimes…you think that someone is better off without you. That you’ll be alright if they’re just happy, and if you’re lucky then you can spend some more time with them.”</p>
<p>There was a reason Yasha wasn’t talking about Caleb in particular at this point, but that wasn’t a conversation to be had right now, especially not with Jester leaning against her, still wiping at her face.</p>
<p>Glancing up at the horizon, she was hoping for a storm, but the sky was clear.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Beau and Nott had wasted no time making their way towards the <em>Silver Hammer</em>, and when they entered the door was thrown open with such force that it almost went off the hinges.</p>
<p>“Quillon, that bastard, where is he?”</p>
<p>Beau’s loud voice, combined with the door that had burst open, was enough to disturb the otherwise quiet atmosphere in the tavern. It couldn’t be past ten at this point, and most people, if there were any at all, were still having breakfast.</p>
<p>The barkeeper, and older dwarven man, whose name neither of them could remember at the moment, was looking at them, eyes wide.</p>
<p>“I…uh...what?” He managed, and Nott had already raised her crossbow. “Quillon. Where is he? I’ve already shot someone today, and I will do it again.”</p>
<p>The barkeeper, who had his hands raised in fear at this point, glanced around the room, catching the eye of a guy that had been sitting in one of the booths in the back of the tavern.</p>
<p>He finished the drink in his hand, before putting it down onto the table, turning to look at the two intruders who had barged in so early in the morning.</p>
<p>“Why are you guys looking for him?” he asked, his voice almost unusually calm considering Nott had now pointed her crossbow at him.</p>
<p>“No idea why that should be any of your business,” Beau replied, her staff now in one hand as if she, too, was ready to attack. “But that bastard hired us to get rid of some creatures that seemingly terrorized this town, and now our friend disappeared and I need Quillon to tell us how to get him back, and what the fuck he actually got us into, before I knock him out cold. And who the hell are you anyways?”</p>
<p>A look of something unrecognizable passed across the man’s face all of a sudden, and he seemed a lot paler as he stood a moment later. “He’s probably at his home, I’ll take you,” He then nodded, but neither Beau nor Nott were ready to let the whole thing go so easily.</p>
<p>“And who’s telling us that you’re not in on the whole thing? Distracting us so someone else can warn him?”</p>
<p>“Oh, trust me, he won’t warn him.” The barkeeper now piped up, which earned him a death glare from Nott. “Uh…I’m just saying, he’s the last person that would warn Quillon,”</p>
<p>“And why should we believe that?” Beau asked, watching as the guy, who appeared to be human, early maybe mid-twenties now fully stepped out of the shadows. His appearance reminded Beau a little of Caleb when they had first met. Unshaven and a little dirty, with old ragged clothes, and just generally not very well taken care of.</p>
<p>“Besides, you still haven’t told us your goddamn name, so why should we even pay attention to anything you say?”</p>
<p>“Because,” the guy now replied with his jaw set tight, and a glint in his eyes all of a sudden that neither of them had noticed before, “that bastard has been double crossing me ever since I came to this city. My name is Varian,” he paused to look at Beau and Nott once more, “And if your friend is gone, then I assume that you have my fiancé.”</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>When Caleb came back to himself, it took him a moment to realize that he actually was awake. The entire room, or wherever it was that he had ended up, was pitch black.  He could still taste Jester’s lips on his own though, even though the kiss felt like a thousand years had passed since then.</p>
<p>He quickly stumbled to his feet, attempting to summon a flame in his hand, but nothing happened. He tried again then, focusing all he energy he could into his hand, but again, nothing happened. The room stayed in total darkness.</p>
<p>“Hello?” He called, attempting to see if his voice would be thrown back to him from the walls, or anything else he could be surrounded with.</p>
<p>Maybe his eyes were open, he then realized, but maybe he had been blinded by the brightness of the glowing symbols? Caleb had refused to close his eyes, wanting to see Jester’s face for as long as possible, before he had disappeared. It had felt like someone had been pulling him into a thousand different directions at once, while simultaneously pushing all the air from his lungs.</p>
<p>Then, a face.</p>
<p>Unrecognizable as it passed him by, with an expression Caleb assumed had been equally as confused as his own.</p>
<p>And then, darkness. Nothing but darkness for as long as he could remember. It was almost a familiar feeling, a feeling he had been trying to shake ever since escaping the asylum all this time ago.</p>
<p>“Human,” A voice rang out all of a sudden, loud enough to make the ground shake beneath his feet. He wasn’t sure where it was coming from, but it sounded…curious almost.</p>
<p>“Who are you?” Caleb blurted out, turning around to look, even though it was still too dark to see anything at all. “Are you…whatever is terrorizing this village?”</p>
<p>There was a silence that probably only lasted for a few seconds, but it could have also been minutes. Caleb had lost any sense of time by now. How long had he been here? It felt as if he had just come back to himself, but for all he knew about magic, and other realms, years could have already passed.</p>
<p>He pushed that thought aside quickly, because it was getting a little hard to breathe all of a sudden. He didn’t want to think about his friends looking for him, or maybe even doing something as stupid as reactivating the circle. He didn’t want to think about Jester.</p>
<p>“Terrorizing? No.” The voice replied, now seemingly coming from an entirely different direction. “But I am the one who cursed it.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Chapter 3! Thanks for reading and leaving comments everyone! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I don’t think shooting her was necessary,”</p>
<p>Caduceus was still on the ground next to Yennifair, who was unconscious, but stable all the same. Her breathing was a little shallow, but there was no immediate threat of her slipping away from life, or so it seemed at least.</p>
<p>“Yeah, me neither.” Fjord agreed. “I mean…I do see Nott’s reasoning behind it, but…we haven’t fared very well with the <em>shoot then talk</em> policy before, we could have still used her as a bait for Quillon to come and tell us how to get Caleb back without shooting her.”</p>
<p>That opportunity had passed now, however, and they would have to work with what they had. Hopefully Beau and Nott would return with Quillon so they could get this whole thing over with.<br/>Yasha and Jester were still off to the side a little, as Fjord noticed, overlooking the hill and the town below. Their other friends didn’t seem to be in sight yet, but it had barely been an hour since they had left, so they might still be a while.</p>
<p>Jester hadn’t quite returned to her normal self, leaning against Yasha’s shoulder as her eyes seemed to wander around, looking for anything and nothing at the same time. Not paying attention, however, it took her a moment to notice that whatever was rubbing against her knee, wasn’t Yasha’s hand.</p>
<p>Frowning ever so slightly, she glanced down, and found that her heart missed a beat when her eyes caught sight of a familiar cat.</p>
<p>“Frumpkin!” Instinctively reaching out for the creature, Jester pulled it tightly to her chest. She couldn’t remember if Caleb had Frumpkin out during the fight, but she assumed the cat had<em> poofed</em> away, since it hadn’t been around when they had left the chamber. Or maybe she simply hadn’t been paying attention.</p>
<p>“Oh Frumpkin…” She muttered, rubbing her cheek against the cat’s head. “Where did you come from? Do you know where Caleb is? Yasha, do you think this means Caleb is okay?”</p>
<p>“I don’t…” Yasha began but was interrupted by Yennifair’s voice.</p>
<p>“Familiars and their owners can exist on different planes,” She managed, half propped up on her elbows where she had been unconscious on the ground just a moment ago.</p>
<p>“You!” Jester called out, half letting go off Frumpkin as she leaped to her feet and surged forward towards the other woman. “Where is Caleb?!” Her hand was glowing all of a sudden from where she was holding a guiding bolt, which was definitely aimed at Yennifair.</p>
<p>“Jester, I don’t think that’s going to help…” Yasha attempted, but it wasn’t her friend’s voice that stopped Jester dead in her tracks. Frumpkin, at this point, had moved between Yennifair and Jester, and for a moment there seemed to be some sort of realization washing over Jester’s face.</p>
<p>The guiding bolt went off towards the side, and Fjord had to actually duck to not take the brunt of it.</p>
<p>“Caleb?” Jester whispered as she fell to her knees, reaching out for Frumpkin once more.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>“Clever,” The voice rang out, and there was the hint of a chuckle as Caleb’s vision went dark again. “No one ever tried <em>that</em> before.”</p>
<p>“Ja, well. I didn’t know if it would work,” Caleb had long tried to stop figuring out where the voice was coming from, because the direction seemed to change every few seconds. “The fire didn’t work.”</p>
<p>There was a pause for a moment, before the voice answered. “Maybe it didn’t work because it wasn’t necessary.” Came the reply, and Caleb frowned, despite knowing that he probably couldn’t be seen.</p>
<p>“So…you mean this isn’t a dark room?”</p>
<p>“Not necessarily, no.” The voice replied, and it was less loud and booming than before, almost as if someone was standing somewhere in the room, or space around him. “Believe it or not, I don’t keep people here to punish them, what is your favorite place in the world?”</p>
<p>There was another pause where Caleb’s thoughts drifted to Jester, the way she took his hand and pulled him along, or how she would sit next to him and peer over his shoulder when he was trying to read.</p>
<p>“I should have known your favorite place is a person,” The voice chuckled through the silence, “Maybe…something a little more doable?”</p>
<p>“Books. I like books.” Caleb ignored the way his chest tightened at the thought of Jester. “A library, maybe?”</p>
<p>There was a pause again, and all of a sudden, the darkness began transforming in front of his eyes. There was a room now, one he was pretty sure hadn’t been there before, and he stood in the middle of it. The walls were lined with shelves that were filled with books, there was a desk in the far end corner and a big, plushy chair next to a small table, that also had a stack of books on it.</p>
<p>Caleb blinked, assuming the illusion would faint at any given time, but when he reached out, he could feel the soft material of the chair, and there was even some dust that had gathered on the books.</p>
<p>“If you don’t keep people here to punish them,” He asked, almost absent minded, “Then what do you keep them here for?”</p>
<p>“Company,” The voice replied, and even now it was hard to make out where it was coming from. Still, Caleb began looking around the room for a moment.</p>
<p>“You said you cursed Druvenlode…so I am assuming the curse somehow binds you to this town,”</p>
<p>A dry laugh echoed through the room then, and it was a little louder than the voice had been before when talking to Caleb.  “You’re smart, little wizard.” The response came promptly, “Admittedly, not something I thought about when cursing the town, but we all live with our mistakes, don’t we.”</p>
<p>That wasn’t something Caleb could argue with, really. He had spent the better part of his life in some sort of haze, forgetting about what he had done, but it had only been when he had met Jester and the others that he had learned that mistakes you made couldn’t be erased, but forgiven if you first forgave yourself.</p>
<p>“Who are you then? Can you show yourself?”</p>
<p>Another chuckle then, as the voice responded. “You are much smarter than I thought. I’ve had people who spent their time in here in total darkness, because they were too afraid to even address me,”</p>
<p>Noting a commotion at the other end of the room, Caleb turned his attention towards it, and found that, on the desk, the form of a woman had manifested itself. She looked mostly human from what he could see, long brown hair that went over her shoulders in waves, a crown of flowers on her head, and her long white dress flowing over the edge of the desk and almost reaching the floor. There was a faint glow emitting from her, that almost made her seem like a ghost, and her lips were curved into a smile.</p>
<p>“Nice to meet you, Caleb,” She gave him a nod, “My name is Ilara,”</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>“Open the door or I will make sure there won’t be one to open within the next few seconds!” It was more of an announcement than a warning, really, because Nott didn’t even manage to get some words in, before Beau had gone for the door with a kick, straight up knocking it off its hinges.</p>
<p>They all barely caught sight of Quillon, who was slipping out of the front room into another one in the back. Nott was already after him and so was Beau, when Varian called out “He’s trying to get out the back!” and with that he had backed out of the house and disappeared around the nearest corner.</p>
<p>When both Nott and Beau stumbled into the next room there was another door, that probably lead into a back alley of sorts, which fell shut. Beau was aiming for it, knocking over a chair in the process, while Nott just straight up charged forward, banging through the nearest window.</p>
<p>Glass shattered as she came to a stop outside, with Beau busting through the door just a few seconds later.</p>
<p>“Damn, that was one badass move.” She muttered, looking around the alley. It was rather narrow, so she easily caught sight of Quillon, who was just a few feet to the left of them, hands raised. Varian was there too, a short sword in his hand, which was pointed directly at the other man.</p>
<p>“You,” Quillon’s voice was cold, and vastly different from what both Nott and Beau remembered it being last night. “I should have known you’d be the one to turn me in, you’ve always been a traitor,”</p>
<p>That almost elicited a laugh from Varian. “Me? A traitor. You should hear yourself.” He shook his head, but kept the weapon pointed at the other man. “You were the one who tried to double cross me, but in the end you did yourself in.”</p>
<p>“Okay, listen.” Beau interjected, glancing over at Nott, who was attempting to pull some glass shards from her arm. “I don’t know whatever the fuck is going on between then two of you, and you’re free to resolve it later, but we need our friend back, and if you tell us how, then we will give you your daughter back,”</p>
<p>Quillon turned towards them, seemingly having forgotten about the sword that was being pointed at him.</p>
<p>“You have Yennifair?” He asked, his eyes wide.</p>
<p>“Yeah. And now our friend is gone. So, you get your daughter back, and we get out friend back, and nobody gets hurt.”</p>
<p>Beau could see Varian tensing ever so slightly at the possibility of someone getting hurt.</p>
<p>“I’m afraid that’s not how it works.” Quillon then responded, glancing back at Varian over his shoulder. “You didn’t tell them how it works?”</p>
<p>The other man shook his head. “Someone…needs to sacrifice themselves,” he then spoke, and Beau almost rolled her eyes.</p>
<p>“Yeah, duh. We get it. Right…so we send Quillon in to sacrifices himself. We get Caleb back. You were tricking us to get her back, right? What kind of father wouldn’t sacrifice himself for their kid?”</p>
<p>Actually, there were quite a few she could think of right off the bat, so maybe that hadn’t been an idea question to ask.</p>
<p>“Because he’d rather see her dead than with me,” Varian interjected, his expression hard as he stepped forward, poking the tip of the sword against Quillon’s back.</p>
<p>“So, we’ll just force him. Throw him into the glowing circle.” Nott suggested, her crossbow now pointed at the older man as well.</p>
<p>“That won’t work,” Varian replied. “The sacrifice has to happen willingly. Forcing someone in won’t get you your friend back,” There was a pause where Nott glanced at all of them for a moment before speaking up again to address Quillon.</p>
<p>“We’ll give you until tomorrow morning then to make a decision. Either you willingly sacrifice yourself,” She nodded, her eyes darkening a little, “Or I will burn this town and all its inhabitants to the ground. You won’t even see it coming.” And with that the arrow was fired, lodging itself into Quillon’s shoulder, who howled in pain, his scream echoing off the walls in the narrow alley.</p>
<p>“Tomorrow at sunrise, or this town burns. And don’t even think of telling anyone about it. I will know, and I will shoot another one of these right through your throat before you can so much as even <em>utter</em> a word,” And with that she had turned around and walked away, leaving Beau to look at the two men.</p>
<p>“Yeah…what she said. You,” She pointed her staff at Varian for a moment. “Keep an eye on him. Make sure he…makes the right decision.” Beau then added, before following Nott down the alley and back out onto the streets of Druvenlode.</p>
<p>“Do you…think that’s going to work?” She eventually broke the silence as they fell in step next to each other. “I mean…I want to see that fucker burn as much as you do but…” She paused for a moment. “Isn’t…threatening to burn down his whole town sort of…forcing him, too?”</p>
<p>They kept on walking, and Nott didn’t reply.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Chapter 4! This one is a little more Lore heavy, but I hope you guys are still with me ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I think they’re coming back,” Yasha had spotted them first as they climbed back up the hill. More than two hours had passed at this point, but the initial excitement quickly faded when everyone noticed that it was just Beau and Nott.</p><p>Quillon was nowhere to be seen.</p><p>“Seems like your father isn’t coming to get you.” Fjord commented, and Caduceus gave him a side look, shaking his head slowly.</p><p>“I could have told you that.” Yennifair replied from her spot on the ground. She had gotten a little more relaxed over the past hour, but now that the person that had shot her was returning, she was visibly tensing up again.</p><p>“Why?” Fjord asked, and she simply shrugged her shoulders.</p><p>“I am assuming that you wanted him to sacrifice himself for your friend.” She continued then. “That’s not how it works, and if he had just wanted me back, without caring about his own life, then he would have come to sacrifice himself in my place long ago,” Her expression had hardened at her own words, and both Fjord and Caduceus had the feeling that there was more to this than any of them had initially thought.</p><p>“What happened? Did you find him?” Yasha asked when the two others had finally made their way back up the hill. Nott was eyeing Yennifair again, who had managed to somehow get herself behind Caduceus to get some cover.</p><p>“Oh, we found him. I threatened to kill him.” Beau huffed, clearly annoyed. “Nott threatened to burn down the whole town though, so there’s that.”</p><p>“Okay, we’re not burning down an entire town.” Fjord interjected quickly. “Why wouldn’t this all work the way we planned it?” He then added, glancing towards Yennifair for a moment, but Beau was quicker to reply and catch everyone up to speed.</p><p>“Right. So, the sacrifice has to be willingly. Basically, one of us has to go.” She concluded, and Yasha raised an eyebrow at her.</p><p>“And what, we just go around in circles? Sacrificing ourselves and hoping that…whatever is doing this is gets tired of it?”</p><p>“How the hell am I supposed to know?” Beau returned, and immediately felt bad for snapping. Her eyes went over to Jester, who still sat a little off to the side, cradling Frumpkin in her arms. “I just…hate seeing her like that.”</p><p>“Me too,” Yasha agreed, her eyes finding Beau’s. “And I know you’d be the first to run in there to get Caleb back, but I don’t want to lose you.” She tore her eyes away then, shaking her head. “I don’t want to lose anyone anymore. There has to be another way…”</p><p>“You could try and break the curse,” Yennifair spoke again, now coming up from behind Caduceus. “I can’t tell you how…but I could tell you about the curse and how it’s been terrorizing this town ever since I can remember…”</p><p>-</p><p>“Ilara. I’d say…nice to meet you, but the circumstances are…less than ideal.”</p><p>His words made her chuckle as she hopped off the desk, shrugging her shoulders. “Oh, I know, but you have already proven to be more fun than most people who ever came here, so I am willing to let it slide,”</p><p>“You said that this curse bound you to the town. Why did you curse it in the first place?”</p><p>Her eyes fell on him for a second, as if she was contemplating the answer, or which one to give him.</p><p>“You’re good company, so I will tell you,” She finally spoke, moving a little closer to where he had been standing by the chair. “I came to this town years ago. I’ve stopped counting at this point, it’s been a long time though. A young sorceress, just looking to build a quiet life for herself. It was great at first, I built my house on top of the hill, overlooking the town. There wasn’t much magic in the town, it was a mining town after all, so I didn’t want to feel on display,” She explained, running her hand over some of the books in the shelves she passed.</p><p>“At first it was great, people were curious, but they didn’t bother me too much. Sometimes they came to me for help, to solve problems with magic, and I was happy to help if they left me alone the rest of the time.”</p><p>“I assume…they didn’t?” Caleb asked, and Ilara turned to look at him again.</p><p>“At first they did…you know, there was this boy. He was…very persistent.” She chuckled, though the expression in her eyes was almost pained. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there aren’t many places here were you can pick flowers. Still, he found some, every time he came to visit and brought them to me. He was the one they always sent up for favors, and…I liked him.”</p><p>“You fell in love, but you didn’t mean to.” Caleb concluded, and he could feel his chest tightening almost instantly. The image of Jester appeared in his mind, her laugh ringing in his ears. Caleb was used to the quiet pain that came with pining, but the thought of her being out there seemed to pain him even more. Surely, he had been the one to make the choice to sacrifice himself, but part of him wished that he could know whether or not she was alright.</p><p>“I let my guard down.” Ilara continued. “One day he brought be a flower crown,” She extended her hand, and the imagine of a carefully crafted flower crown made of daisies appeared for a moment. “So…I kissed him. I don’t know how the rest of the town found out. If someone saw, or if he told them, but from that day on…”</p><p>She trailed off, and Caleb could feel a knot forming in the pit of his stomach. Whatever had happened that day, it had changed everything.</p><p>-</p><p>“They kept asking more favors of her, favors they didn’t really need.” Yennifair spoke, watching as Caduceus and Fjord began setting up the campfire. The sun was going down over the hill already, and it would get drastically colder within the next hour. “And when Ilara didn’t want to grant them all those wishes, they planned to sneak up and set her house on fire. Burn down everything she had built, including the herb gardens and flowers that she used to grow,”</p><p>“So they’re threatening to burn down her house because she doesn’t grant them wishes? That’s…an asshole move.” Beau interjected, and Yennifair shook her head.</p><p>“No, they didn’t <em>threaten</em>. They were ready to do it, but Albert…the boy she had come to like, wasn’t going to let that happen. He wanted to warn her, but they…caught him.”</p><p>There was a pause where everyone seemed to put the puzzle pieces together in their heads, and neither of them really liked the way it made their stomach turn ever so slightly.</p><p>“So, they set…<em>the diversion</em> and then set fire to her house. It says it she didn’t even care about the burning house, she just sat in front of it as it burned down, cradling Albert’s dead body, screaming.”</p><p>“Fuck.” Nott was the first to break the silence that had followed, while everyone was staring into the fire they had settled around.</p><p>“Legend said that…she then picked up his body, and walked straight into the burning house, cursing the town and all of its inhabitants with her last breath.”</p><p>For the longest time, all that was heard was the crackling of the fire as they all tried to wrap their head around the story. Eventually Caduceus shifted, picking up a couple of his utensils to make some tea.</p><p>“That is…very unfortunate.” He concluded then. “What…exactly is this curse, if you don’t mind me asking.”</p><p>Yennifair shrugged her shoulders as she pulled her knees closer to her chest. “I’ve only heard stories. Crops would die, or entire fields would burn down for no reason, mineshafts would suddenly collapse when they had been checked just the day before, trapping people inside,” She began. “And there’d be a strange howling at night, my father always told me to stay inside. When I was little, I thought that it was just a ghost story, you know to scare children, but I’m not so sure anymore.”</p><p>“Well, at least that wasn’t a lie then,” Beau nodded from where she was sat in between Jester and Yasha. Part of her wished that there was something she could have done, talked to either of them really, especially after going off on Yasha earlier, but there just didn’t seem to be the right moment for it.</p><p>“Legend says that, as long as someone is sacrificed, the curse won’t take effect and the town will be safe. The sacrifice has to happen willingly though. During the first year they sent up some poor fellow and forced him into the circle, but he’d come back two days later, terrified, and the curse would take effect again,”</p><p>“I still don’t get why he sent us in here though. Was he so sure that someone would sacrifice themselves? And that, if someone did, we wouldn’t come after him?” Yasha asked, and no one seemed to have a real answer to that.</p><p>“He was probably desperate. Thought that the problem would either resolve itself, or that he would deal with whatever came then.” Yennifair eventually spoke. “People…when they came here before, and lost someone to the sacrifice, they just…moved on at some point, accepting that they had lost someone. They made no real effort to resolve the whole thing.”</p><p>“We’re not leaving Caleb behind.” Jester’s voice piped up, and everyone turned to look at her. It was the first time she had really spoke since this morning with Yasha.</p><p>“But…we can’t burn down an entire town of mostly innocent people either.” At that, Beau felt herself tensing up a little, because out of all the people here she probably knew best that they couldn’t really do that and justify it in front of Caleb, should they ever be able to bring him back.</p><p>-</p><p>“You didn’t know the curse would bind you to the town,” Caleb concluded from his place by the chair, and Ilara nodded.</p><p>“In that moment it didn’t matter. They hadn’t just taken away my chance at a quiet life, they had also taken away the one thing I really cared about. I wanted…revenge,” She let out a dry chuckle then, “it didn’t get me very far, did it? Don’t get me wrong,” She focused her eyes on him for a moment. “For the first few years it was fun to watch them struggle and live in fear, but it’s been a long time and…I’m tired.”</p><p>“Why didn’t you just…seek revenge in a different way? You told me, if it was true, that you were a very powerful sorceress, ja?” He continued. “Why didn’t you just…”</p><p>“Burn their town down?” She concluded his sentence, the hint of a smile tugging on her lips. “I wanted them to suffer…I went a little…mad.” For a second it felt as if she could stare right through him and into his soul, and Caleb figured it wasn’t all that far off, considering she had been able to read his mind earlier. “You know about that, don’t you?”</p><p>Caleb felt his chest tighten again at her words, eyes trying to focus on her, but her entire appearance seemed to blur for a moment.</p><p>“Would you like to see how mad I went?” The sound of her voice had changed, it was darker all of a sudden and despite everything in him screaming to say <em>no</em>, Caleb felt almost compelled to nod.</p><p>For a moment nothing seemed to happen, but then Ilara raised her hand and the blurry appearance began to change.</p><p> The smell of burning flesh and hair suddenly hit Caleb’s nose, and he had to fight the urge to throw up. The blurry face revealed itself again, just inches away from him, burnt skin, with a dress that was entirely on fire and eyes that revealed that whatever bit of her sanity she had still been holding on to, was gone. Caleb knew that expression all too well and without even wanting to, he screamed, his body making an attempt to get away from the gruesome figure in front of him but failing.</p><p>On the hill, in the darkness of the night, on an entirely different plane, Jester woke up screaming.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to everyone who has been reading and leaving comments&amp;kudos. This story is so much fun to write and I'm glad you guys are enjoying it! x</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Neither one of them was a deep sleeper, so the moment Jester’s scream was echoing through the night, they were all awake.</p>
<p>Yasha, who had kept watch, was by her side first, watching as her friend looked around, almost disorientated, eyes wide with terror and chest heaving. “Jester, what’s wrong?”</p>
<p>Nott and Fjord had instinctively drawn their weapons and were looking around, but the camp was quiet, no shadows in the dark, no noises that would tell of anyone attacking and fleeing.</p>
<p>“Caleb…” Jester muttered, one hand stretched out, almost as if she was reaching for something, or someone, that wasn’t there. It took her a moment to realize that Yasha was by her side, and that everybody else was staring. “I was…I heard…” She began, but then trailed off, because there weren’t really any words to describe what she had just experienced. It was almost like she had been watching through Caleb’s eyes, like he usually did with Frumpkin. She could still see the burnt face and feel the way the smell had crept into her nose, burnt flesh and hair, a hand reaching out to her as if to hold her in place.</p>
<p>And that piercing scream that had rang in her ears, so distinctively <em>Caleb</em> that she could still feel herself shaking from it.</p>
<p>“I’m fine. I’m…fine.” Her defense mechanism kicked in as she ducked her head a little. Her heart was still racing in her chest, but Jester didn’t want everyone else’s attention on her, not in a situation like this.</p>
<p>“So…no one’s attacking?” Beau eventually broke the silence about the same time as Fjord and Nott lowered their weapons.</p>
<p>“No. I don’t think any of us are in immediate danger,” Caduceus replied, his gaze briefly resting on Jester. “I will make you some tea,” He then offered, and Jester could only nod.</p>
<p>“You…you should all go back to bed. I will…take watch.” There was no way she was going back to sleep right now, not with that horribly burnt face fresh in her memory and Caleb’s scream still echoing in her ear.</p>
<p>Everyone settled back down eventually, though it was evident that no one was really sleeping. Jester sat by the fire, cradling a mug of tea in her head, just staring off into the darkness.</p>
<p>It had been hard enough to accept that Caleb was gone, but the thought of him hurting, wherever he was, made her chest tighten to the point where she had to remind herself to breathe.</p>
<p>Sighing to herself, she eventually reached into her bag and pulled out a small piece of copper wire.</p>
<p><em>“Mama?”</em> She then whispered, trying to ignore the way her stomach twisted ever so slightly. <em>“I…I just wanted to hear your voice. And….did you…ever tell my Dad that you loved him? Before he vanished, I mean,” </em>She wasn’t sure if the message had cut off at some point, she hadn’t been counting words, but a minute passed before she could eventually hear her mother’s voice.</p>
<p>
  <em>“Jester? My love, it is good to hear your voice. Uh…an odd question, but I did. Are you alright?”</em>
</p>
<p><em>Did it make a difference?</em> She wanted to ask, <em>did it hurt less or more? </em>But there was no way she would be able to explain what was happening in a message that was limited to twenty-five words, so instead she stayed where she was, staring off into the darkness again.</p>
<p>It took her a while to notice that Yennifair had settled down next to her, holding her own mug of tea. Caduceus had made some for all of them, but most of them had quickly downed it before laying down to attempt to catch some more sleep.</p>
<p>That clearly hadn’t been working for Yennifair though, or maybe it hadn’t been her intention at all. “Did you talk to him?” The phrase hung in the air for a moment, before Jester eventually shifted her attention towards the other woman.</p>
<p>“Who? Oh…no. I was talking to my mama,” She muttered, taking a sip of the tea, which had gone cold already.</p>
<p>“I meant…in your dream.” Yennifair clarified, glancing over at her. “I don’t know how it works exactly, but sometimes I could talk to Varian. Not full on conversations, but words, and very rarely sentences.” She then added. “It was dark most of the time…and I was too afraid to do much, but…sometimes I’d talk to myself, and pretend to talk to him, and then one day…I could hear his voice, as if he had been able to understand me,”</p>
<p>Jester simply looked at her for a moment, eyes a little wider than before. “No…I…it felt like I was seeing what he was seeing, and…it wasn’t nice,” She eventually responded, eyes briefly drifting back towards the fire. “How did you end up in there? I mean…Beau said that the sacrifice had to be willingly,”</p>
<p>There was another pause, as Yennifair placed her empty mug onto the ground, before speaking again. “Varian came to this town a few years ago. He was a hard worker, and he was kind and smart, and I instantly fell in love with him.” There was the hint of a smile on her face as she talked, as if she could recall those memories as clear as the day still. “I was only seventeen back then, and my father wasn’t happy. He didn’t think Varian was good enough for me. He never…” She sighed. “My mother left when I was very young, and he never really got over it, so I think the prospect of someone taking his daughter away from him, wasn’t something he could deal with.”</p>
<p>There was another pause as Jester watched her, the smile now fading as it was replaced with a certain sadness. “There has to be a new sacrifice every five years. Whoever sacrificed themselves will be thrown back onto this plane and someone else has to step up, or the town will be under attack again. Time was almost up back then, and…my father tricked us. I don’t know what he told Varian, but when I woke up one morning, I was told that he had gone and sacrificed himself for the greater good of the town,”</p>
<p>“And…he wouldn’t have done that?” Jester asked, knees now pulled up towards her chest as she listened to the story.</p>
<p>“Oh, he would have, but he wouldn’t have gone without telling me.” Yennifair continued. “And…my father was way too happy about it, he tried to hide it but…when you spend your entire life with someone you know when they’re lying. I was devastated…and that night I snuck out of the house and up here, and I activated the circle to sacrifice myself in Varian’s place.”</p>
<p>Jester couldn’t help the way her chest tightened again as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “And…he didn’t try to sacrifice himself again for you?”</p>
<p>Yennifair shook her head. “That’s not how it works. You can only do it once. It’s part of the curse, I don’t know…I don’t exactly know how it works, but it prevents the same people from going over and over again. People who have returned though…they’ve gone mad. They speak of eternal darkness, or they don’t speak at all.” She sighed again, “My father…he was desperate to get me back, and he couldn’t force Varian to sacrifice himself again, so he tricked you, and…I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>“Hey,” Jester shook her head. “It wasn’t your fault, okay? You couldn’t know what your father would do.”</p>
<p>“I know but…still. I don’t even know how long I was in there. I’ve seen the darkness they speak of…and if it wouldn’t have been for his voice, then I would have probably gone mad, too…”</p>
<p>Jester bit her lip a little harder, and momentarily tasted blood, before she glanced down at the copper wire in her hands. “Do you…do you think this spell can send a message to another plane?” She then asked, a newfound burst of hope suddenly expanding in her chest.</p>
<p>“There’s a chance it doesn’t reach whoever you’re looking for,” A voice behind them suddenly spoke up, “But I know it worked for me,”</p>
<p>Jester didn’t even manage to turn around before Yasha, who had been sleeping a little far off to the side, was on her feet, sword drawn and pointed at the figure now stepping out of the shadows.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>When Caleb came back to himself, he was on the floor. It was still the same room, though the ceiling seemed to stretch on endlessly, which reminded him that this wasn’t a real place, not in the way he was used to anyway.</p>
<p>He blinked a couple of times before pushing himself up onto his elbows, looking around. It took him a moment to remember what had actually happened, but when he spotted Ilara over in the chair, he instantly tensed up a little.</p>
<p>It was a familiar feeling of dread that suddenly tugged on him, threatening to pull him back into a place where he had sworn to never go again.</p>
<p>“I apologize for that,” She spoke up, cocking her head to the side a little, but not moving. “It’s…been a long time since anyone actually talked to me, and I do go a little mad…”</p>
<p>Whatever he had seen must have been an illusion, which was something Caleb had known, but his brain had short circuited and the last thing he remembered was screaming, before everything had gone dark again.</p>
<p>“Is there a way out of here?” He then found himself asking, earning a raised eyebrow from Ilara. “Not…that I mind the company here terribly, just…”</p>
<p>A small chuckle fell from her lips as a response, interrupting him. “A new sacrifice has to be made every five years, but…time here works different. I honestly couldn’t tell you how long you’ve been here.” She then continued. “Could have been five minutes, or maybe two years,”</p>
<p>The thought of having been trapped here for so long already made Caleb’s stomach twist and he swallowed hard as he moved to stand back up. If that much time had passed already then, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. He didn’t expect his friends to wait for him that long, they all had their own lives and agendas, and those wouldn’t be fulfilled if they just sat around, waiting.</p>
<p>If two years had passed then Jester was probably…he forced himself to push that thought away, because thinking about her made it hard to breathe, like someone had put chains around his chest and was pulling them tighter with every minute, threatening to crush him.</p>
<p>“Can the curse be broken?” Caleb then found himself asking, his voice almost a little strained as he spoke.</p>
<p>If Ilara had answered then he must have missed it, because in that moment he could hear another voice. It sounded like it was coming from far away, but it was definitely there, and it definitely sounded familiar.</p>
<p><em>“Caleb? Can you hear me? Where are you? We’re trying to rescue you; what did you even think you were doing? Were you watching me th-“</em> The voice cut off mid-sentence, and it left him too stunned to reply for a moment. Catching Ilara’s eyes eventually, Caleb could see that her lips were curved into a smile and there was nothing malicious about it this time, in fact it almost seemed a little sad.</p>
<p>“Your girl is smart,”</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>“Wait, that’s Varian,” Beau, who had been on the ground next to Yasha had gotten up, her staff in hand, though her look had changed from alerted to mildly annoyed when she had recognized the figure that had stepped into the fire light. “You were supposed to keep an eye on that Quillon bastard,”</p>
<p>“So I did.” He replied, though he was momentarily distracted when he caught sight of Yennifair, who had still been sitting next to Jester. The moment she had recognized him, however, she had thrown herself forward and into his arms, not caring about the sword that was being pointed at him.</p>
<p>“You’re really here…you’re really…back…” He muttered, and there seemed to be tears forming in his eyes as he pulled back ever so slightly.</p>
<p>“How long has it been?” She whispered in response, leaning into his touch as he reached up to pull a strand of hair from her face.</p>
<p>“Nearly…two years. I tried everything but…” Varian trailed off, and Yennifair shook her head.</p>
<p>“I know…I know you did; I don’t blame you…” She then nodded, her hands tightly gripping the front of his shirt, almost as if she was afraid that he’d vanish if she’d let go.</p>
<p>“Ahem,” Beau eventually piped up. “I’d…hate to interrupt this tearful reunion, but…you were supposed to watch Quillon for us?”</p>
<p>Tearing his eyes away from Yennifair, he shifted his attention to the others. “I did, and that’s why I came here, you should prepare yourself for a fight.” He then began. “Quillon…he’s gathering an army of men. I don’t know what he’s telling them, but they are ready to lay their lives down for him. They’re planning an ambush at dawn,”</p>
<p>“That little fucker,” Nott cursed, crossbow ready at her side.</p>
<p>“We should just go and kill them all right now.” Beau agreed, her face darkening as she spoke.</p>
<p>“Okay, listen.” Fjord interjected. “They don’t know that we know they’re coming. We could use that to our advantage. Right? Varian, do any of them know any magic? You know, spells they could surprise us with?”</p>
<p>Varian, who still hadn’t let go of Yennifair, seemed to think for a moment, watching as Yasha eventually lowered her sword.</p>
<p>Meanwhile Jester had stood off to the side a little, glancing down at the copper wire she was still holding.</p>
<p><em>“Caleb?”</em> She then whispered. <em>“Caleb can you hear me?”</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Another chapter! Enjoy x</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Everyone had started discussing potential strategies and how to best approach the planned ambush, while Jester was still off to the side, waiting for a reply from Caleb. She knew that there was a small chance that the message hadn’t even reached him, but she wasn’t willing to give up just yet.</p>
<p>When his voice finally came through it sounded like it was far away, almost like an echo, but it hit her like an arrow straight to the chest, nevertheless. It had been less than a day since she had heard his voice, and yet there was something about it that just hit her harder than Jester could have ever expected.</p>
<p><em>“Jester.” </em>It was just a repetition of her name, but it felt like some was gripping her heart in an attempt to tear it right out of her chest. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on anything else, but it almost felt like the message was incomplete. As if anything other than her name had gotten lost along the way.</p>
<p>“Jester?” Yasha’s touch startled her, and she almost dropped the wire as she looked around. “Are you okay?” Everyone was staring at her, and for once Jester didn’t like the attention. She had felt so out of the loop ever since Caleb had disappeared, and it was hard to show her vulnerability, even though these people had become part of her family. She had always been the happy one, because being happy was easier than admitting you were not okay, but it seemed like it was all catching up with her now.</p>
<p>“Yeah…I…just…I was listening for an answer from Caleb.” She wasn’t even sure how long she had stood there, but now that everyone was staring at her she assumed it must have been quite a while.</p>
<p>“Did you get anything?” Caduceus now added, and his voice was almost calming. The cold grip around her heart loosened, and Jester forced herself to take a deep breath.</p>
<p>“Just…that he’s out there, somewhere.” She then found herself replying with a sigh. “I have another spell, I could try again…” Holding the copper wire up to her lips again, she closed her eyes, imagining Caleb. His hair that was slightly longer than when she had met him, though a lot more groomed, his stubble and the way he always fiddled with his fingers whenever he wasn’t holding a book. His slightly crooked smile and the way his hands were always warm whenever she touched them, and how he always spoke her name so softly.</p>
<p>Jester, although not having spoken a word yet, opened her eyes again, feeling tears prickling in the corners.</p>
<p>“How…how long has he been in love with me?” She whispered, feeling the way Yasha’s grip on her arm became a little tighter, almost like a comforting squeeze.</p>
<p>It had been a quiet yearning, which made sense, because Caleb was usually quiet. It was a yearning that had been so vastly different from Jester’s own though, especially when she had still been crushing on Fjord. She had never hidden it, because that just wasn’t her, and even if she was shot down, then she at least had no regrets.</p>
<p>That hadn’t been love though. Love was warmth and comfort, and wanting to be with someone, and wanting them to be alright. It was giving them your familiar when you noticed they were sad and thinking about them whenever you saw something that reminded you of them. It was doing everything in your power to make them smile, and your insides curling in on themselves when they said another woman’s name, but not because of jealously, but because you could see the pain in their eyes and wanted to make it better.</p>
<p><em>“Caleb,”</em> She whispered, her hands shaking as she raised the wire back up to cast the spell. <em>“Caleb. We need to break this curse. I need to talk to you. Do you know how to break the curse?” </em>It wasn’t something she wanted to tell him like this though, especially not since she didn’t even know whether or not this message would reach him. The first one had been a long stretch by any imagination, so maybe this one had gotten lost between the planes already.</p>
<p>“Come on,” Fjord broke the silence eventually, “We’ll hide in the ruins for now and figure out the rest of the plan, okay?”<br/>Jester just nodded, feeling Yasha’s hand on the small of her back now, as she guided her further up the hill while she attempted to blink away the tears.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>“Do you know how to break the curse?” Caleb’s eyes focused again, not quite sure whether or not Jester had gotten his response. He looked up to find Ilara by the desk now, her head cocked to the side ever so slightly.</p>
<p>“I do.” She then replied, and Caleb couldn’t quite tell whether or not she’d be willing to tell him. Somehow he figured  the answer was no though, because he assumed that she would have at least given him a hint if she had been planning on helping.</p>
<p>“Don’t look at me like that,” She then added, pulling him from his thoughts. “I can’t tell you, it’s part of the curse. I’m bound to this place until the curse is lifted, yes, but the people of this town brought it upon themselves, so they need to figure out a way to break it on their own.”</p>
<p>“I understand, but there’s good people out there. The people who did this to you? They’re long gone, most of them I assume anyways, and there’s always going to be people who will do bad things, but…”</p>
<p>Running her hand across the edge of the desk, Ilara looked up at him again. “It doesn’t matter. I know they’re not all bad, innocent people have died in fires caused by this curse., and in the beginning, I didn’t care, because I was angry.  The anger faded, though, and the people of Druvenlode found a way to live with the curse, to get other people to sacrifice themselves so they could live in peace. And maybe that’s my punishment for not thinking before using my magic for something it wasn’t made for.” She shook her head, and for a moment Caleb almost thought that there were tears in her eyes, but when he blinked, they seemed to have gone. “I was born to heal and to do good, and I got so angry that I used my magic for the wrong reasons, and now I’ve been here for longer than I can remember. This was supposed to be a punishment for the town, and instead it became my own,”</p>
<p>Her eyes met with Caleb’s and for a moment they became sharp, almost as if they were trying to pierce right through him. “Do you know that they never even apologized? Not one of them.” She then continued; eyes still glued to him. “Instead they tried to find ways to get around the curse and the sacrifice over and over again.”</p>
<p>With a snap of her fingers, the scenery around Caleb changed all of a sudden, and the library turned into what he assumed was the inside of a cottage. There were stone walls that looked eerily similar to the ruins they had found up on that hill, a small table in the middle of the room, open windows and flowers that were all over place, some older and some fresh, and in one of the chairs Caleb could make out the figure of a man. He was young, in his early twenties, maybe, with short brown hair and simple clothes. He wasn’t moving, however, and when Ilara stepped up to him, her expression changed to something so sad that it made Caleb’s chest hurt.</p>
<p>“Just an illusion,” She then spoke, reaching out and watching as the figure began to flicker the moment she touched it. “I wish I could have told him that I’m sorry.” She then added, looking back up at Caleb again, eyes resting on him a little longer than probably necessary. “That I’m sorry this happened to him, that I couldn’t protect him,”</p>
<p><em>“Caleb.”</em> Jester’s voice was in his mind again all of a sudden, and Caleb’s heart immediately missed a beat. <em>“…you know to break the curse?”</em> It felt like something was missing, but the attempt at piecing it together was intercepted by another thought that suddenly hit him.</p>
<p>Looking up at Ilara, Caleb found her eyes again just in time for her to snap her fingers.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>With how open the hill was, there wasn’t really any place to hide other than the ruins. Neither of them really enjoyed going near the place that had taken their friend away from them, but at least they would have some cover, and possibly a surprise attack.</p>
<p>“Does anyone know what time it is?” Fjord whispered, and Beau, who was peaking up from behind one of the still mainly intact walls, replied with “Caleb?” only to flinch as soon as she had spoken.</p>
<p>Yasha reached out to touch her shoulder for a moment, just letting it rest there, and Beau sighed. She had been restless all night, pacing around and trying to figure out the best way to prepare for this ambush, while simultaneously attempting to not lose herself in anger. She knew that burning down the entire town wasn’t a good idea, and neither was hurting innocent people, but she was about ready to take Quillon’s head off.</p>
<p>“Hey, it’ll be alright.” Yasha whispered, and in a small moment of weakness Beau leaned against her, just taking in the familiar smell and warmth of the other woman.</p>
<p>“We’ve gotten out of worse situations, right?” She then nodded, though Yasha couldn’t reply anymore.</p>
<p>“I’m seeing movement!” Nott piped up quietly, and most of them ducked away and out of sight. They had stuffed their blankets with anything they could find, leaving them draped around the fire so people coming in from a distance would think that they were sleeping. Fjord had cast <em>Major Image</em> to make an exact copy of himself sitting by the fire, his back turned towards the foot of the hill. They had been waiting like that for nearly half an hour now, all hidden amongst the ruins, until Nott had noticed the movement.</p>
<p>“They have no major spells, not that I could tell you about anyways.” Varian had told them earlier. “Most magic here, if there’s any, is used for small things like mending or healing. They will try to, for the lack of a better turn, bash our heads in.”</p>
<p>Fjord, who was peaking around one of the still mostly intact walls to keep up the illusion, saw the movement in the shadows then, and he barely managed a “Now!” when Nott had already fired her crossbow. It hit one of the guys square in the chest, while another one began flailing about in an attempt to escape Caduceus’ swarm of beetles.</p>
<p>Within seconds, utter chaos had erupted as Fjord dropped the spell, before teleporting closer towards their enemies, while Beau and Yasha charged forward as well. Nott was firing another crossbow from where she was hidden beneath the wall, only poking out for a short moment, and Jester had already raised her hand to cast her <em>Spiritual Weapon,</em> when Caleb’s voice rang in her head again and she almost did a double take.</p>
<p><em>“…sorry.”</em> She blinked, almost completely zoning out of the battle for a moment as she tried to concentrate on the voice. <em>“I’m sorry….you…apologize.”</em> It sounded distinctively far away again, and Jester couldn’t make sense of the words. Why was he apologizing to her? She needed to know how to break this curse, it was all that mattered. They had fought way worse enemies than a bunch of people coming at them with arrows and hand axes, but defeating Quillon, no matter how satisfying, wouldn’t bring Caleb back to them.</p>
<p>“I don’t…Caleb…what are you trying to say?” She mumbled to herself, only to be pulled from her thoughts by another voice.</p>
<p>“Jester!” Beau was yelling, looking back at her, and for a moment Jester frowned at the other woman, who had just taken out two guys with her staff, before something else came into focus.</p>
<p>An arrow that was coming straight for her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you to everyone who has read and left comments so far, it really does mean the world to me! &lt;3</p>
<p>Check out the playlist if you haven't yet:<br/>https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1yICmLmx0mLipWN4BPFPxY?si=5UbOhczfSBGgHo5SiNPhMw</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jester managed to throw up her shield last minute, deflecting the arrow that otherwise would have hit her straight into the chest.</p>
<p>She felt a pull on her arm, and before she could react, she was on the ground and behind one of the few still intact walls of the ruins, Yennifair next to her.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” She managed, feeling the adrenaline surging through her veins, making her heart beat faster and her hands shake ever so slightly. They had been in so many battles before, and battles against creatures and people that were far worse than what they were facing right now, but still Jester’s head wasn’t really in the game.</p>
<p>“You’re welcome, I’m not…a very good fighter,” Yennifair continued, “But I can heal. So, I’m going to stay here, just in case…” She trailed off, and Jester could see the worry in her eyes.</p>
<p>She clearly wasn’t used to fighting, especially not with having been stuck wherever she had been for the past two years.</p>
<p>“Did you hear from your friend?” There was something there, like she knew more about what was going on between Jester and Caleb, even if she hadn’t been around for the kiss, but chose not to say anything, at least for now.</p>
<p>“I did but…it didn’t make much sense,” Jester sighed, forcing herself to not peek over the wall to see how her friends were doing. She could hear arrows flying and Beau yelling something towards Yasha about flanking, before the sound of swords clinking together overtook everything else.</p>
<p>“This place you went…what…what was it like?” She then asked, and Yennifair sighed, leaning against the wall for a moment.</p>
<p>“It was…dark, most of the time. There was a voice every now and then, I think they were trying to talk to me, but I was too scared so I just…curled up most of the time and tried to think about Varian,” She bit her lip, and Jester could tell she was trying not to think about how the man she loved was out there on the battlefield, fighting her own father. “Sometimes the darkness would faint, there were flowers, fields of them, and a woman…she was carrying flowers, too. I wanted to approach, but…” She trailed off again and Jester reached out to rest a hand on her arm. “I think…it might have been <em>her,</em> you know? The woman that cursed the town, and I was afraid she might be upset, and she has every right to be. I mean…I know we weren’t the ones who initially did this to her, but we didn’t do anything to lift the curse. This whole town has spent years trying to avoid the curse and its consquences, not one person ever thought about coming up here to apologize, because they didn’t think it was their fault. It was just something their ancestors had done, and they had to deal with it now,”</p>
<p>Something about that made Jester stop in her tracks, her grip on Yennifair’s arm tightening ever so slightly. She couldn’t quite place what it was, but it felt like there was something she was missing.  </p>
<p>“You said something about flowers…” She then mumbled, and Yennifair, who had been looking down at where Jester was clutching her arm, nodded.</p>
<p>“Yes…the boy from the story, Albert, used to bring her flowers every time he came around. It says she kept them all around her house, even in the beginning when she refused to let him in or talk to him beyond what was required as favors to the town.”</p>
<p><em>I’m sorry…you…apologize.</em> Caleb’s distant words echoed in her mind, and suddenly Jester’s eyes grew wide.</p>
<p>“Yennifair, come on!” She then nodded, jumping to her feet and pulling the other woman along, but making sure they were still crouched down low enough as to not be hit by any flying arrows.</p>
<p>“What…?” Yennifair managed, not quite sure what was going on. She let Jester pull her along, however, glancing back over her shoulder briefly to get a look at the battlefield, where Beau had just knocked two guys prone onto the ground, which she recognized as friends of her father.</p>
<p>Quillon himself was nowhere to be seen though, which didn’t surprise her. He had never been someone to do the dirty work himself. Feeling anger rising up in her chest, Yennifair turned back towards Jester, who was pulling her away from the ruins.</p>
<p>“Where are we going?” She asked, and Jester eventually stopped a few feet behind the house, looking around in the dark.</p>
<p>“We need to find flowers, you go left I go right, and we meet here in five minutes, find as many flowers as you can, okay?” Once again there was no time for any questions, because Jester had already walked off further into the darkness, so Yennifair resigned herself to her fate, and carefully stepped forward as well.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>“What was his name?”</p>
<p>They were back in the library, a small fire burning in the fireplace next to the chair Caleb found himself sitting in.</p>
<p>Ilara glanced at him for a moment, a smile tugging on the corners of her lips. “Albert.” She the answered with a nod, leaning against the desk. “I wish…I had told him how I felt. For the longest time I wished that I would have never kissed him, but then…I realized he would have come again and again, because he did love me, and he wasn’t going to be so easily swayed,” A small chuckle fell from her lips, though her expression became a little sadder following it, “If I hadn’t been so set on pretending I didn’t have any feelings for him we might have been able to have some time together, or…who knows, we might have been able to prevent what happened. Not everyone gets a second chance though,”</p>
<p>Caleb felt his chest tighten again, looking past her and out of the window behind Ilara, which lead nowhere. His thoughts drifted to Jester, and how he had been too scared to tell her how he felt.</p>
<p>Not because of her eventual response, but because he had thought he wasn’t deserving of someone like her. Someone who was so good and kind that he would only corrupt her. Everyone else would have told him differently, of course, but he simply hadn’t been able to believe it. She was better off with someone else.</p>
<p>“I don’t…pretend to know what comes after we die.” He eventually spoke again, focusing back on Ilara. “But…maybe you’ll get your second chance after the curse is broken. Maybe Albert…is waiting somewhere for you, and you get what you’ve wished for.”</p>
<p>She seemed to consider her answer for a moment, looking back at him. “Do you really believe that? Or is it just what you wish for yourself, sad one?”</p>
<p>He didn’t manage to produce an answer, because all of a sudden, the room began to blur around them.</p>
<p>“What is happening?”</p>
<p>Ilara met his eyes again, and then there was a voice that came through, echoing around the room, who seemed to be getting brighter and brighter with any passing moment.</p>
<p><em>“I’m sorry!”</em> The voice was practically yelling, and Caleb felt a pang to his chest.</p>
<p>The voice undoubtedly belonged to Jester.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Nott had just taken out two more people with her crossbow, while Beau had finally found Quillon amidst all the chaos. He had tried to sneak off towards the back, but she had him pinned down to the floor with her staff now, a little unsure of what to do now.</p>
<p>She was still angry, yes, but to kill someone’s father while they were potentially watching wasn’t really something she wanted to add to her experiences. Despite what this bastard had done, he was still Yennifair’s father, and killing him wouldn’t help them getting Caleb back.</p>
<p>It was then that a sudden rumble seemed to shake the ground around them. Frowning ever so slightly Beau looked around, spotting most of her friends, and Varian. Yennifair was standing amongst the ruins, looking back at the battlefield.</p>
<p>“Where’s Jester?” Beau called, not being able to spot her best friend either on the battlefield or with Yennifair.</p>
<p>Yasha and Fjord seemed to both have the exact same idea then, because they charged for the ruins in an instant, leaving Beau even more confused.</p>
<p>“Oh,” Caduceus muttered to himself, watching as both his friends disappeared between the ruins. “We should have noticed that,”</p>
<p>Most of the battle had died down now that Quillon, the guy who had initiated the whole ambush, was pinned to the ground. At least half of the people that had come along were down anyways, the rest of them taking a step back as they noticed Nott with her crossbow, still aiming for them.</p>
<p>“What? What should we have noticed?” Beau asked, glancing up at her friend and ignoring the way Quillon was breathing harshly beneath her, where he was very nearly crushed by her staff and the weight she was putting onto it.</p>
<p>Yasha was the first to stumble down the few steps that had led them into the room where they had found the stone circle on the floor not a day ago. Fjord was following closely behind, but all both of them managed to see was the stone door shifting, closing the room off entirely.</p>
<p>“Jester!” Yasha called, fists coming to bang against the stone hard. She was well aware that there was only one way to open the door, and that was a sacrifice to deactivate the circle, and yet she couldn’t stop.</p>
<p>It was Fjord that pulled her away eventually, watching the blood dripping from Yasha’s knuckles. “There’s nothing we can do…” He muttered, sounding as defeated as he hadn’t in a long time.</p>
<p>Upstairs, Beau was still looking around, frowning. “Guys? What’s happening?” Three of her friends were now gone, and Varian had stepped up, placing the tip of his sword against Quillon’s chest.</p>
<p>“I think you should go see your friends,” He then told her without taking his eyes off the man that had tried crossing him more than once and had, at least in this battle, clearly been after his head.</p>
<p>“Uh…right.” Beau nodded, knowing it was probably not a good idea, but looking around she watched as both Caduceus and even Nott now turned towards the ruins, while the rest of the men were either withdrawing or trying to pull their wounded to safety.</p>
<p>“I guess it had to end one way or another,” Quillon spit out, his eyes harsh as he looked up at Varian. “Go on, end it. Or do you not have the guts to? You were always weak.”</p>
<p>“Don’t.” Yennifair’s voice perked up and as Beau stepped back, she watched the other woman make her way across the grass and to where Varian still had her father pinned to the floor.</p>
<p>“No one else dies today.” She then added, sliding her hand into Varian’s free one. “You will leave this town and never return. I do not care where you go as long as you leave us alone. This town belongs to us now,” There was a coldness in her voice that sent a shiver down Beau’s spine, but it was only directed at her father.</p>
<p>“Anyone else who wishes to follow can,” She then continued, addressing the people around that were still gathering themselves. “No one will be judged and is welcome in Druvenlode as long as you promise that your loyalty lies with us. You will be healed and return to the town,”<br/>“Yennifair, you are my daughter…” Quillon perked up, but she shook her head.</p>
<p>“No. I stopped being your daughter the day mother left, and you started caring more about yourself than anyone else.”</p>
<p>She took a step back then, and Varian withdrew his sword, watching as Quillon stumbled to his feet. For a moment he seemed torn, but then, without another look back at them, scrambled off into the darkness.</p>
<p>No one followed him.</p>
<p>“Damn, that was…pretty badass.” Beau managed eventually, watching as Yennifair leaned against Varian for a moment, eyes closed.</p>
<p>“Thank you…” She then muttered, “But…I really do think you should go see your friends.” She then replied, and Beau watched as Caduceus stepped up to them.</p>
<p>“I think you should go, Beau.” He agreed, “I will help with the healing.”</p>
<p>“Can’t Jester help too? I mean I know she isn’t particularly fond of it but…” It was then that the dots in her mind finally connected.</p>
<p>“No.” She managed, though the subtle pain on Caduceus’ face was enough of an answer.</p>
<p>“Jester!”</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Wow. So here we go, the final chapter.<br/>Honestly, this started out as a short prompt on tumblr, and I didn't want to write a multi chapter fic, because I felt like I didn't know NEARLY enough about DnD or Critical Role when I started this, but then the idea manifested itself in my head, and I just had to write it.<br/>I hope I did okay and that you guys enjoyed my little story! Thanks to everyone who's read and left comments and kudos! </p>
<p>Don't forget to love each other x</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The symbols on the floor lit up the moment Jester stepped into the circle. She vaguely noticed the sound the closing door made, and someone calling her name. She thought it to be Yasha, but while she hated thinking about her friend in distress, she was glad that Yasha hadn’t managed to stop her.</p>
<p>There was no time to explain what she was planning, not even Yennifair knew the whole story behind the flowers and what Jester had decided on doing, but she assumed the other woman had at least grasped the concept.</p>
<p>She would have to thank her for not running off to tell her friends later. Well, assuming there was going to be a <em>later</em>.</p>
<p>Stepping further into the circle, Jester tightly clutched the bouquet of flowers that she had collected. It was getting harder to keep her eyes open, because the symbols seemed to be glowing brighter with every second now. She hadn’t really noticed it the first time around, when Caleb had stepped in, mainly because she had been so shocked by the kiss and him giving up his existence just to save them.</p>
<p>
  <em>Caleb.</em>
</p>
<p>Her chest tightened at the thought of him having been stuck in whatever this was. She had no idea how much time had passed there, or if time was even a construct that had any sort of meaning for him now. For all she knew, despite having attempted to talk to him, it could have felt like years to him in there.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry!” She eventually called, her voice breaking ever so slightly at the edges, as if she hadn’t spoken in a long time. Biting her lip, Jester eventually took a deep breath, imagining Caleb.</p>
<p>Caleb how he was looking down into his books, hair falling into his face. The way he laughed whenever she said something funny and then caught himself, almost as if he hadn’t expected to be laughing at all. How he would look at her whenever she sat next to him, peering into his books, and then poof Frumpkin into her lap as a distraction, and because he knew how much she loved playing with the cat.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry! For what people did to you! And that nobody ever cared enough to apologize!” She then found herself shouting again, “You deserve that much! And more, for everything you’ve done for this town! I’m sorry. But,” Feeling tears pooling in the corners of her eyes, Jester shut her eyes even more tightly, but the light was so bright that it barely helped at all. “I need him! Please give him back to me!”</p>
<p>Holding out the bouquet of flowers, she suddenly noticed that all sound seemed to fade away. Even the shouting from what now sounded like Beau and Yasha became quieter and quieter, until it had fully stopped.</p>
<p>She felt a sudden presence then, forcing herself to open her eyes. It was still impossibly bright, but Jester managed to catch the shape of a woman in front of her. She was her age, maybe even younger, with long brown hair that framed her face and fell over her shoulder, and Jester quickly noticed the flower crown on her head. The flowers seemed old, almost dried out at this point, and even though Jester could feel her chest tightening again she forced herself to really focus.</p>
<p>The look on the other woman’s face was unreadable for a moment, at least until she caught sight on the flowers. Her lips curved into a smile, and even though they weren’t moving, Jester could hear a voice.</p>
<p><em>“Clever,”</em> The voice seemed to say as the woman reached out to take the bouquet from Jester’s hands. <em>“Thank you. Now…hold on tight.”</em></p>
<p><em>Why?</em> Jester wanted to ask, but before she could even form the words to speak, the flowers had been taken from her hands and the woman began glowing, lips still curved into a smile. Everything was too bright, and Jester had to close her eyes again so she wouldn’t be completely blinded.</p>
<p>“Caleb?” She called out then, wondering if this was what he had gone through. Yennifair had spoken of a darkness, so maybe that was where she was heading. Why was she supposed to hold on tight though?</p>
<p>Her feet seemed to move on their own accord then, pushing her forward a little. Startled, Jester opened her eyes again, and another shape appeared just a few feet away from her. It was moving, too, and it Jester barely had the chance to get used to the light again when she noticed that it was Caleb.</p>
<p>He was walking towards her, a mix of relief and panic on his face.</p>
<p>His lips were moving, too, and even though she couldn’t make out what he was saying, it seemed like he was repeating her name.</p>
<p><em>“I can’t hear you! Caleb!”</em> She gestured with her hands, attempting to force herself to stop moving. She was still walking though, and no command or thought seemed to be enough to stop her.  </p>
<p>Caleb seemed to be incapable of coming to a standstill as well, and Jester tried not to panic, ignoring the way her stomach twisted ever so slightly. <br/>She could practically see the wheels turning in Caleb’s head, going through every spell and every book he ever read to find a solution. She could feel tears burning in her eyes once more, because at this rate they were going to just pass each other by.</p>
<p><em>“Caleb!”</em> She yelled, though his expression was still panicked, and Jester didn’t know what else to do. They couldn’t have gone through all of this for nothing! There had to be something they could do. She wasn’t ready to leave him, there was so much they had to talk about, so much to see and so much to do.</p>
<p>She wasn’t ready to let go.</p>
<p>Suddenly, the woman’s voice was back in her head, repeating the sentence she had spoken not a moment ago.</p>
<p>
  <em>“Now, hold on tight.”</em>
</p>
<p>Jester blinked for a moment, watching as Caleb passed her. He had almost disappeared from her view, when she finally moved. Her hand shot out to grab his, holding on as tightly as she possibly could.</p>
<p>She could feel her heart beating faster in her chest as Caleb’s fingers closed around hers and she turned to look back at him. He looked surprised, but also relieved, and even though she couldn’t hear him, Jester watched his lips move again, before she was pulled backwards.</p>
<p><em>I still can’t hear you!</em> She wanted to say, but then his other arm wrapped around her and Jester closed her eyes, attempting to escape the bright light as she held on to Caleb, face buried against his chest.</p>
<p>There was a loud rumble all of a sudden and the ground under their feet began to shake, and then everything went quiet.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>On the other side of the door Fjord had barely been able to keep Beau from attempting to punch the stone with her bare hands. Yasha was still on her knees, knuckles bruised and bleeding.</p>
<p>Strength wasn’t going to help them here, they all knew that, but it was hard to accept the fact that there was nothing they could do but wait.</p>
<p>“Why is she doing this?” Beau yelled out in frustration, kicking the closest stone away from herself. Of course, they all knew the reason, but it wasn’t going to help them get Caleb back. Not for good anyway and losing Jester in the process would bring them right back to square one.</p>
<p>“I would have done the same.” Yasha’s voice was quiet, and Beau felt the other woman’s hand slip into hers suddenly. It was a small gesture, but it calmed her down enough to not run head first towards the door again.</p>
<p>“Jester wouldn’t just go in without a plan,” Nott shook her head, crossbow still in hand, even though they had long defeated the enemy. “I absolutely would have, but she’s not as impulsive as me. Not when it comes to this…” The strain that the last day had been putting on Nott was clearly visible. She looked tired, her hands shaking ever so slightly. Caleb and Jester were the two people she was closest to in this group, and the thought of losing them both now was gnawing away at her.</p>
<p>“I just don’t…” Beau started, but was cut off by a deep, rumbling sound. The earth beneath their feet began to shake all of a sudden, and she held on a little tighter to Yasha’s hand. “What…?”</p>
<p>The whole basement seemed to shake for a few more seconds then, before the door in front of them crumbled and almost instantly became rubble and dust that fell to the floor, opening up the view into the chamber they had only narrowly escaped last time.</p>
<p>The bright light had faded, and the stone floor was cracked all around, having destroyed the symbols on the floor. The walls were still shaking a little and there, in the middle of the now broken circle, Caleb and Jester were sitting on the ground, arms wrapped tightly around each other.</p>
<p>The sound of people spilling into the room was what seemed to pull them from their trance like state, and it took Yasha’s sob for both of them to finally open their eyes.</p>
<p>“Caleb?” Jester’s voice was hoarse from all the screaming, her hands still clawed into his coat as if she simply couldn’t let go. As if she was afraid that he’d vanish from right beneath her fingertips if she loosened her grip.</p>
<p>Glancing up, his face finally came into view, and Jester noticed that he was crying.</p>
<p>“Jester.” He whispered, moving his hands to her face, touching and wiping away her own tears. “You did it.<em> Du hast uns gerettet</em>. You…saved us.”</p>
<p>His voice was shaky and a little hoarse as well, and she could tell that he had been shouting for her, too.</p>
<p>“We saved each other. I wouldn’t have…I wouldn’t have known what to do if you hadn’t given me the hints.” She returned, a relieved smile forming on her lips as she leaned into his touch.</p>
<p>“You shouldn’t have done that though,” Now that she finally managed to let go and pull back a little, Jester used her free hand to slap his chest, more tears spilling from her eyes and down her cheeks, where they were caught by Caleb.</p>
<p>“Kiss you?” He asked quietly, having barely noticed the presence of their friends in the room. Right now all that mattered was Jester, and that they were both safe. He could deal with heartbreak; he had been through it before. Besides, Caleb had never really assumed that Jester shared his feelings and…</p>
<p>“What? No, kissing me and then stepping into that circle without even giving me a chance to respond.” Though the situation was vastly different, Jester could now imagine the pain and heartbreak her mother had gone through after the man she had loved had never returned.</p>
<p>“Don’t ever do that again, Caleb.” Jester added, still leaning into his touch as she shook her head slowly.</p>
<p>“I can’t promise that but…<em>ja</em>, I will try.” He then found himself replying, the corners of his mouth turned upwards slightly.</p>
<p>It was then that their friends finally reached them, Nott not even stopping in her movement before she threw her arms around both of them.</p>
<p>“Don’t ever do that again, both of you!” She sounded more relieved than annoyed at this point, and Jester found herself laughing a little. Beau and Yasha were still holding hands, leaning against each other, while Caduceus had stepped into the room now, too.</p>
<p>“It seems like you broke the curse,” His lips were curved into a soft smile as he spoke, moving in a little further to rest a hand on Yasha’s shoulder in an attempt to heal her bruised hands.</p>
<p>“We did,” Jester nodded, turning towards her friends. “Do you…do you guys think she can finally rest in peace now? She looked happy when she took the flowers.”</p>
<p>“I do believe that, yes. This whole place seems…much calmer now.”</p>
<p>Fjord had extended his hands to both Jester and Caleb helping them up, and relief was written all over his face. “We should probably still get out of here; I have a feeling this whole chamber isn’t going to hold very much longer.”</p>
<p>Jester nodded, slipping her fingers into Caleb’s and holding on tightly as she looked back over her shoulder one last time on their way out.</p>
<p>The stone floor was cracked, much like the walls, and there was a bit of gravel and soil coming from the ceiling. Still, there was a calmness to all of it, that almost seemed out of order. It translated to above ground as well, the sun had come up and there was not a cloud in sight as they all stepped out of the ruins.</p>
<p>Most of the men and women who had fought were already gone, only leaving Yennifair behind, waiting for them. She stood where their place for the night had been, offering a smile as she caught sight of both Jester and Caleb.</p>
<p>“I don’t know how you did it, but…you broke the curse, and for that I cannot thank you enough. Now, and with my father gone, this town can finally breathe again.” A shadow clouded her face for a moment, and Jester almost felt bad for her, because as awful as Quillon had been, he was still Yennifair’s father, and losing a father, in whatever way, wasn’t a good feeling. “Follow me, I will make sure you can all rest and maybe get something to eat, if you want. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like, of course.”</p>
<p>“That’s most gracious of you,” Fjord responded with a nod. It didn’t seem like either of them had taken a lot of damage in the fight, but most of them hadn’t gotten a full night’s sleep, or any rest at all, so maybe staying another night would be a good idea.</p>
<p>As they all gathered their things and moved down the hill, and towards the town, Jester tugged on Caleb’s hand, slowing down his pace so they would hang back a little bit.</p>
<p>“Caleb?” She asked, feeling her heart skip a beat as she shuffled a little closer to him. “What were you saying back then? When you were pulling me towards you?” She had tried gathering what he was saying, but the light had been too bright, and Jester had been too focused on not letting go of his hand.</p>
<p>Squeezing her hand a little tighter, Caleb took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air. He knew he technically hadn’t spent a lot of time in whatever place he had been, but it had felt like an eternity without Jester by his side.</p>
<p>“<em>Ich sagte</em>…I was saying that I love you.” He was pretty sure that the cat was out of the bag now anyway, and there was no denying it. He had been in love with Jester for a long time and saying it out loud actually felt a lot better than he had imagined it would. Especially since she was still holding his hand.</p>
<p>“Duh, I kinda thought it was something like that.” She nodded in response, and suddenly Caleb found himself laughing. He couldn’t help it. The laughter was bubbling up from his chest, escaping through his mouth, because that was what she did best. She made him laugh, even when it was the furthest thing from his mind. Against his better judgement, Caleb had let himself fall for Jester and she had managed to shine a light into the darkness that had clouded his vision for so long.</p>
<p>And then she was kissing him, chuckling when she only caught half of his mouth in the first attempt, before letting herself get caught up in his arms.</p>
<p>From somewhere down the hill Beau was shouting “Get a room!” and Yasha’s soft laughter followed as Caleb used his free hand to flip her off while Jester kissed him again.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Extra</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A little treat for everyone who has read this far! :D I have commissioned the wonderful Malény ( @itsmalenylopez on twitter&amp;instagram! ) to sketch a piece that goes along with Jester and Caleb being reunited after breaking the curse! And I am in love! &lt;3</p>
<p>Enjoy!!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
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